What's the Best Car for an Uber Driver?

CARS.COM — If you catch rides frequently with the reigning champs of ride-hailing, Uber and Lyft, you might hear a common refrain while chatting up your drivers about their car: "I bought it just to do this," they'll often say. Which got us to thinking: If you're gonna buy a new set of wheels just to drive for rideshare driving, which cars are your best bet?

While we originally perceived such smartphone-era, sharing-economy services to be something people did to make a little extra scratch in their spare time using the cars they already owned, it's easy to see why the presumption has changed. Median income estimates for an Uber driver have been reported at as much as $90,000 a year — more than a lot of people were making when their jobs became casualties of the economic recession just as Uber was coming into play.

And thus the Uber-era "micro-entrepreneur" was born. However, a couple of problems with that career plan have become clearer in the seven years since the San Francisco-based rideshare company hung its ride-hailing shingle:

A.) Self-driving cars could replace human Uber drivers in as few as five years, according to projections — and in Pittsburgh already have to a small degree.

B.) Uber drivers in many cases are lucky to pull down half of that sexy 90-grand figure.

According to an in-depth study of Uber drivers' incomes reported by BuzzFeed in November 2014, more typical annual earnings for a driver, less some expenses, are closer to $35,000. That's depending, of course, on how many hours they work, at which times, how many times a week, where, whether the driver owns his or her car, insurance costs, tolls, gas prices, etc.

As the objective for aspiring Uber drivers is to make money with their car, price has to be a top, if not the top, consideration. According to personal-finance website Bankrate.com, car buyers should observe the 20/4/10 rule — meaning a 20 percent down payment, a four-year loan term and principal, interest and insurance payments not to exceed 10 percent of the buyer's monthly gross income.

With insurance-info website Insure.com reporting the national average for full auto coverage at $1,325 a year, and personal-finance site NerdWallet.com reporting a ride-sharing insurance policy from Geico for $150 a year more than a traditional personal policy, we worked off of an annual insurance cost of $1,500, or $125 a month. That's the same figure the BuzzFeed study factored into its drivers' income for insurance to reach the $35,000 annual salary estimate.

While the average price of a car these days is pushing $34,000, a four-year loan at $292 a month (10 percent of a $35,000 gross annual salary), assuming a 20 percent down payment, comes to just $17,500. Since that's not particularly realistic, we'll use a more typical five-year loan term for a total purchase price of about $22,000, including interest. That'll at least get us in the ballpark to buy our new car for our new gig.

Assuming vital factors such as price, automatic transmission, combined EPA fuel-economy rating and reliability per J.D. Power Dependability Ratings (as well as general popularity, practicality and a just a little bit of voodoo), here are the best new cars for an aspiring Uber driver (make sure you consult the Uber car requirements before making a purchase):